This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book. The book shows Weber's sociological theory was generally understood in comparison to those of Marx and presented as a response to Marxism. According to the approach that has taken roots in sociological literature, Weber is an alternative to Marx and his interpretive explanations replace materialist ones in a switch to a non-positivist position. He explains the birth of capitalism in relation to intellectual and religious effects in opposition to Marx, who approaches the problem with reference to economic factors in a progressive understanding of history. According to both Weber and Marx, capitalist society is unavoidably problematic, however, at the same time it is revolutionary in comparison to the traditional societies of both the West and the Orient. American sociology entered a relationship with Weber "as the prophet of Western values against Marxism".